South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1887-09-23
STARTLING STORMS.
A Signal Officers Account Of
Electrical Disturbances.
Impressive Sights from the Top
Of Pixies Peak.

Sergeant Luther NJ. Dey, now In the
Signal Service in Philadelphia, spent q
year for the Government at Pixies Peak.
His experiences there must be rs inter-
esting to scientists rs to tho general pub
lie, for they are unlike any ever pub
lished about that monarch OF American
mountains.
81 was in the Signal Service house on
the summit when lightning telcgraphed
itself up the mountain and struck the
building" he said recently. Tho fire
was grounded five feet from the west
wall. The bolt plowcd furrow from
the end of the wire to the stone wall,
two feet thick, and tore out Of it hole
eighteen inches square. Then it flashed
around the room, melted and ruined
some of our instruments, and went out
of the east window. The air seemed
full Of electricity at the time, but not
one of US was injured.
''Not long aftcrward / saw the most
wonderful electrical storm l have ever
heard of. The atmosphere had appeared
loaded with electricity all one afternoon.
There was a singing sound in the air, as
IL the whole universe was great hive of
bees. When the sun went down saw
thousand jets of electric flame rising
from the wire down the mountain.
went outdoors. My hair rose up. My
mustache poked iuto my nose l took
my hands from my pockets and electric
flames two inches long started from each
finger tip. When i held them down the
flames disappeared. walked up and
down with my hands in the air as ex.
cited as a child When / came under
the telegraph wire the flames went out
where was and disappeared before and
behind me. This storm lasted half an
hour"
But from Sergeant Dey's talk there are
real dangers on the mountain. Once in
winter time he descended the great
crater, for Pixies Peak is an extinct vol
cano. Half way down the side of the
crater he slipped, and in moment shot
several hundred feet along the slippery
surface of loose snow, saving himself by
catching on bowlder The snow was
very deep, and far down the mountain
he saw tracks of mountain lions After
hours of awful suffering and struggling
in snowbanks, he reached the trail and
got back to the station.
1.-THE house has walls two feet thick"
continued Sergeant Dey. ''Therc are
several rooms-one for instruments, one
for sleeping, and two used as storeroom
and kitchen, respectively. The roof is
anchored by great cables, to brace it
against the wind, which is terrible,
sometimes blowing 100 miles an hour.
Six months provisions and six months
supply of wood are taken up every fall
from timber line. The Peak is ten miles
from Manitou and seventeen from Colo
RADIO Springs. The view from the sta
ton was magnificent. We could see the
smoke of Denver, the city of Pueblo,
and the trains on the plains twenty miles
away, very clearly. We could see in
Old Mexico the Spanish peaks, capped
with snow and glistening like knights
in armor, $50 miles away More than
dozen times we have looked far, far
down below us at thunder storms raging
in q sea of black clouds.
'Ict me tell you word of poor Capt.
Crevin. He was friend of Gen. Hazen
aud came west for his health. He was
Manx man and on the Peak in the
government service. The doctor saws
he died of a boil IN the lungs, a very
care disease. Life on the Peak is lonely.
There are few birds and animals. Bears
are seen occasionally, and vultures and
The miserable, CHASTITY looking Rocky
Mountain magpies and thrushcs. 1t SHOWS
every month in the year. Once in
while royal eagle scars over the range.
The atmosphere is so rare up there that
Inc men of the Signal Office have to
spend one month on the summit. 14.15O
feet above the sea and then one month
1000 feet lower at Colorado Springs"
Pixies Peak is the highest mountain
in the world on which civilized men
i've all the year round. Globe Demo-
crat.